Necessity is the mother of invention

All of us must have frequently come across the concerns relating to the potable water. Man has dug deep into the stomach of Mother Earth, but even this source seems to be either fast drying up or becoming an unviable option. Currently, water level in the major reservoirs is running low and monsoons are eagerly awaited. Our insatiable hunger for land has led to disappearance of water bodies on account of reclamation.

I was going through an article in one of the reputed magazines regarding some of the recent innovations that could be game changers. However, I didn’t come across an innovation that either creates fresh water by using chemistry or purifies used or ocean water to make it potable. Then it struck me that countries such as UAE have already addressed their water problem through large scale desalination of sea water and the process was already there, but it probably required more widespread adoption.

My wish of India, a peninsula surrounded by water on its three sides, West, South and East, going for desalination seems to be close to be getting fulfilled as evidenced by news item that I came across yesterday, regarding BMC inviting bids for a 200 MLD ( million litres per day) desalination plant to be set up in Manori island, just across Marve, Malad. This should help Mumbai reduce its dependence on rain water stored in five lakes around the city as also underground water that’s transported using tankers, an increasing number of which can be seen with the progress of summers. I understand that desalination process is highly energy intensive and could be expensive, but anything that addresses the issue of potable water is priceless. If it’s successful, Chennai, a perpetually water starved city could be the next to provide relief to its citizens.